As a consequence, at least in part, of user demand, wireless communication devices such as smartphones, phablets, and tablets are being developed with more and more functionality. For example, wireless communication devices are desired that can operate in multiple communication modes. Two such communication modes are: an infrastructure mode, where the communication device wirelessly connects to an infrastructure device within a network such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) in order to communicate with other devices for instance within the Internet; and a peer-to-peer communication mode, where the communication device wirelessly communicates directly with a peer communication device without the use of an intermediary infrastructure device.
Certain standards have been developed that support both an infrastructure communication mode and a peer-to-peer communication mode for wireless communications. One such set of wireless communication standards are the 802.11 standards, referred to in the art as Wi-Fi standards or Wi-Fi technology, which were developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The Wi-Fi standards support regular Wi-Fi (also referred to herein simply as Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi infrastructure) connections with access points in a WLAN to connect to the Internet, for instance, and also support Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer (also referred to in the art and herein as Wi-Fi Direct) communication with a peer communication device without the use of an access point. Although these two communication modes are available using Wi-Fi technology, the current art fails to adequately address a transceiver subsystem efficiently switching between multiple communication modes, such as between a Wi-Fi infrastructure mode and a Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer mode.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of disclosed embodiments. In addition, the description and drawings do not necessarily require the order illustrated. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.